ABOUT GREAT LAKES THEATER

The mission of Great Lakes Theater (GLT), through its mainstage productions and its education programs, is to bring the pleasure, power and relevance of classic theater to the widest possible audience.

Since the company’s inception in 1962, programming has been rooted in Shakespeare, but GLT’s commitment to great plays spans the breadth of all cultures, forms of theater and time periods –– including the 20th century –– and provides for the occasional mounting of new works that complement the classical repertoire.

Classic theater holds the capacity to illuminate truth and enduring values, celebrate and challenge human nature and actions, revel in eloquent language, preserve the traditions of diverse cultures and generate communal spirit. On its mainstage and through its education programs, GLT seeks to create visceral, immediate experiences for participants, asserting theater’s historic role as a vehicle for advancing the common good and helping people make joyful and meaningful connections between classic plays and their own lives.

The company’s commitment to classic theater is magnified in the educational programming surrounding its productions. Since its inception, GLT has had a strong presence in area schools, bringing students to the theater for matinee performances and sending specially trained actor-teachers to the schools for weeklong residencies developed to explore classic drama from a theatrical point of view. GLT is equally dedicated to enhancing the theater experience for adult audiences. To this end, GLT regularly serves as the catalyst for community events and programs in the arts and humanities that illuminate the plays on its stage.

Great Lakes Theater is one of only a handful of American theaters that have stayed the course as a classic theater. As GLT celebrates more than a decade in its permanent home at the Hanna Theatre, the company reaffirms its belief in the power of partnership, its determination to make this community a better place in which to live, and its commitment to ensure the legacy of classic theater in Cleveland.

Charles Fee

Producing Artistic Director

Presents

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